Most pages give you the number and stop. The number matters less than three details in the statute: it counts the level after you park, it has zero tolerance for drugs, and it lets Sweden take your foreign licence off you for the rest of the trip.
When you need this
You’ve rented a car and someone suggests a beer with dinner. You’re at a crayfish party or a Midsummer table and plan to drive in the morning. You’ve just rolled off a ferry into a police or customs checkpoint. Or you take medicine that makes you drowsy, or used cannabis at home before the trip. And if someone in your group has just been stopped and lost their licence, this explains what happens next.
The limit: 0.2 per mille means zero
The offence is rattfylleri, drink-driving. Driving a motor vehicle with at least 0.2 per mille alcohol in the blood, or 0.10 mg per liter of breath, is punishable by fines or up to six months in prison. In percent that is 0.02 BAC.
| Country | General limit |
|---|---|
| Sweden, Norway | 0.2 per mille |
| Germany, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands | 0.5 per mille |
| England | 0.8 per mille |
Norway uses the same limit, so driving on from Sweden gives you no extra margin. Germany’s zero limit for novice drivers is the closest thing most visitors know to how Sweden works for everyone.
One wording matters more than the number. The law counts a level reached “during or after” the drive. Alcohol you drank just before setting off, still being absorbed when you park, still counts. “I was under when I started” is no defense.
Three ways to commit the offence
The same section of the 1951 traffic-offences act gives three separate routes to a drink-driving conviction:
| Route | What counts | Number? |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | 0.2 per mille blood / 0.10 mg/l breath, during or after the drive | Yes |
| Narcotics | Any narcotic substance still in the blood | Zero tolerance |
| Impairment | Too affected by alcohol or any other substance to drive safely | None needed |
Drugs: the narcotics route has no minimum. A trace is enough, which matters for cannabis. THC can stay in the blood long after the effect has gone, so a joint smoked legally at home before the trip can still make a later drive in Sweden drug-driving (drograttfylleri). The licence is then normally revoked for 12 months.
Prescribed medicine: narcotics taken as a doctor prescribed are exempt from the zero-tolerance rule. They are not exempt from the impairment rule. If your medicine leaves you unfit to drive, it is still rattfylleri. Carry the prescription.
Aggravated drink-driving (grovt rattfylleri) carries up to two years in prison. Courts give particular weight to a level of 1.0 per mille or more, to being otherwise considerably affected, and to driving that created an obvious danger. These are factors, not a threshold. The offence itself starts at 0.2, not at 1.0 as some pages suggest.
The morning after
This is the trap that catches careful people. Sleep, coffee, a cold shower and exercise do nothing to speed up burn-off. Systembolaget, the state alcohol retailer, gives these times for a 70 kg person:
| Drink | Time to burn off (70 kg person) |
|---|---|
| Light beer, 33 cl (2.2%) | About 1 hour |
| Strong beer, 33 cl (5%) | 2–2.5 hours |
| Glass of wine, 12.5 cl | 2–2.5 hours |
| Shot of spirits, 4 cl | 2–2.5 hours |
| Bottle of wine, 75 cl | 11–12 hours |
Lighter people take longer, so treat these as a floor, not a target. Finish a bottle of wine at 1 a.m. and you can still be over the limit at breakfast. Systembolaget also reports driving ability about 20 percent worse the day after heavy drinking, even with no alcohol left. The practical rule: after a big evening, the whole next morning is a no-driving morning.
Warning: A morning-after conviction is treated exactly like driving drunk at midnight: day-fines or prison, and your licence gone.
What a breath test looks like
Swedish police may breath-test any driver of a motor vehicle, without suspicion. You don’t have to drive badly to be tested. Customs and coast-guard officers have the same testing power, so a checkpoint at a ferry terminal or land border can be customs as well as police. Police also run national operations around the big drinking holidays. The most recent ran 8–14 June 2026, in the run-up to Midsummer.
A stop goes like this:
- You blow into a screening device (sållningsprov) at the roadside. It shows only whether you’re over a limit, not a figure. The test is meant to be taken out of public view.
- If it shows you are over, you give two evidential breath tests 6–8 minutes apart, usually at a police station or in a police bus. The average is the figure the prosecutor and Transportstyrelsen, the licensing authority, use.
- Refuse to blow and the law allows a blood test instead. Suspected drug-driving can also mean an eye examination and a blood test.
Penalties and your licence
The criminal penalty for plain rattfylleri is day-fines or up to six months in prison. Day-fines (dagsböter) scale with income: 30 to 150 day-fines at 50 to 1,000 kr each, so anywhere from 1,500 to 150,000 kr. Aggravated drink-driving means prison, up to two years. The car can be forfeited where that is needed to prevent further offences, and prior convictions weigh heavily. Police, customs and the coast guard can also take your keys or the vehicle temporarily to stop you driving off.
The licence is what ends the trip. If you showed clear signs of influence, or revocation is probable, your licence is taken on the spot. From that moment you may not drive in Sweden, and driving anyway is a separate offence. Revocation follows almost always, with a spärrtid (the period before you can get a licence again) of one month to three years. It is at least a year for aggravated cases, and around 12 months is common.
A warning instead of revocation exists in the statute for levels under 0.5 per mille. Transportstyrelsen says that in practice it gives one only below 0.15 mg/l of breath, roughly 0.3 per mille. Don’t plan around it.
Foreign licences get the same treatment. Your licence can be seized, and Transportstyrelsen can declare it invalid in Sweden for a set time on the same grounds as a Swedish one. Sweden also has an alcolock alternative, driving only a car fitted with a breath-lock for at least 12 months, but it takes an application. We haven’t verified how it works with a foreign licence.
E-scooters, bikes and boats
Rental e-scooters and bikes: the offence covers motor vehicles. Swedish law classes an e-scooter built for at most 20 km/h with a motor of at most 250 W, and a pedal e-bike that cuts out at 25 km/h, as a cykel (bicycle). So rattfylleri doesn’t apply. Riding carelessly is still a traffic offence (vårdslöshet i trafik) punished by day-fines. A faster or more powerful scooter, or a moped, is a motor vehicle with the full 0.2 limit.
Boats: sjöfylleri, drunk boating, has the same 0.2 per mille limit for anyone steering a boat that can do at least 15 knots or is at least 10 meters long. Aggravated cases carry up to two years. On a smaller, slower boat there is no number, but being too drunk to handle it safely is still an offence. See renting a boat in Sweden.
Mistakes to avoid
- “One beer is fine, like at home.” At 0.2 it may not be, and it takes two hours or more to burn off.
- Driving straight after the last drink because you feel fine. Your level can still be rising, and the law counts it after you park.
- Believing 1.0 per mille is where the offence begins. It begins at 0.2.
- A few hours’ sleep, then the dawn drive. Sleep burns nothing faster.
- Thinking a foreign licence is out of reach. It can be seized and declared invalid in Sweden.
- Treating any scooter as a loophole. Only bicycle-class scooters are outside rattfylleri.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Alcohol limit (cars, motorcycles, mopeds) | 0.2 per mille blood / 0.10 mg/l breath (0.02% BAC) |
| Narcotics | Zero tolerance; prescribed use exempt unless it impairs you |
| Aggravated offence | Up to 2 years in prison; 1.0 per mille is a factor, not a threshold |
| Penalty, plain offence | Day-fines (1,500–150,000 kr by income) or up to 6 months in prison |
| Licence | Taken on the spot; revoked 1 month – 3 years, often around 12 months |
| Foreign licence | Can be seized and declared invalid in Sweden |
| Boats ≥ 15 knots or ≥ 10 m | Same 0.2 limit (sjöfylleri) |
| Bicycle-class e-scooters and bikes | Outside rattfylleri; careless riding still fined |
| Burn-off, one drink (70 kg) | 2–2.5 hours; bottle of wine 11–12 hours |
FAQ
What is the drink-driving limit in Sweden?
0.2 per mille in the blood, which is 0.02 percent BAC, or 0.10 mg per liter of breath. That is lower than in Germany, Denmark, Finland or the UK. Driving with any trace of a non-prescribed narcotic in the blood is also drink-driving, and so is being visibly unfit to drive whatever the reading.
How many drinks can I have and still drive in Sweden?
Plan on none. Systembolaget’s own figures show one strong beer, glass of wine or shot takes a 70 kg person two to two and a half hours to burn off, and lighter people take longer. The law also counts a level reached after you park, so the only reliable number of drinks before driving is zero.
Can Swedish police breath-test me without a reason?
Yes. Police may test any driver of a motor vehicle without suspicion, usually at a roadside checkpoint, and customs officers may test drivers too. A screening device shows only whether you are over a limit. If it shows you are, you give two evidential breath tests 6–8 minutes apart, usually at a police station or in a police bus.
What happens to a tourist caught drink-driving in Sweden?
Your licence is normally taken on the spot, and a foreign licence can be declared invalid in Sweden for a period, often about 12 months. The offence itself brings day-fines scaled to your income or prison, up to two years if aggravated. The car can be forfeited in serious cases. For most visitors, the road trip ends that day.
Can I drive the morning after drinking in Sweden?
Often not. A bottle of wine takes a 70 kg person 11–12 hours to burn off, and sleep, coffee and cold showers change nothing. Stop drinking at 1 a.m. and you can still be over 0.2 per mille at breakfast. Systembolaget also reports driving ability about 20 percent worse the next day even at zero.
Can I ride an e-scooter or bike in Sweden after drinking?
The drink-driving offence covers motor vehicles, and a rental e-scooter limited to 20 km/h and 250 W counts as a bicycle, so rattfylleri does not apply. Riding carelessly is still a traffic offence punished by day-fines, and faster scooters and mopeds are motor vehicles with the full 0.2 limit. Walking is safer.
Does the 0.2 limit apply to boats in Sweden?
Yes, for any boat that can do at least 15 knots or is at least 10 meters long: the same 0.2 per mille limit, fines or prison, and up to two years if aggravated. On a smaller, slower boat there is no number, but being too drunk to handle it safely is still an offence.
Related guides
- Driving in Sweden — headlights, give-way and the other rules on the same trip
- Laws tourists break in Sweden — the fines and offences that catch visitors off the road
- Taxis in Sweden — how to get home the night you drink
- Renting a car in Sweden — the licence you’re putting at risk
- Drug laws in Sweden — why cannabis use is itself a crime here
Facts verified 2026-09-24. Sources: Sveriges Riksdag (statute texts), Transportstyrelsen, Trafikverket, Polisen, Systembolaget, ETSC — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.